Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 113, which represents close to 12,000 TTC workers, releases details of the proposed Collective Agreement. After many months of bargaining, TTC and Local 113 reached a tentative agreement at 4:00 a.m. on June 7. Member meetings are planned tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11, to share and discuss the proposed contract details. A ratification vote will take place next Tuesday, June 18.
After many months of bargaining, TTC and Local 113 reached an agreement in principle minutes before workers walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. last Friday, June 7.
For more than a decade, Local 113 members were the only transit workers in Canada who did not have the legal right to strike. Earlier, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, struck down the relevant legislation as unconstitutional and restored our rights. Just two weeks ago on May 23rd the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed that decision. Faced with the threat of a strike, the employer was forced to bargain with us and take on our issues.
Collective bargaining worked exactly as it was intended to. Local 113 members identified their key issues as increased job security, protection from contracting out, wages that respect the value of our work, and improved benefits for our members and pensioners. Voting more than 98% in favour of a strike gave us a mandate that management could not ignore. With the support of our members, the labour movement and our community allies, we won on all of these key priorities.
“This contract is a breakthrough for public transit and transit workers everywhere,” said Local 113 President Marvin Alfred. “Thank you to our members, and our friends and allies. By standing strong together, we were able to achieve gains that would never have been possible through arbitration.”
“This contract includes significant benefits improvements for active members and their families. Also, for the first time in many years, pensioners are also seeing improvements,” said Angie Clark, Executive Vice-President. “Members will save time and money through simplified process and pensioners will see a real improvement in their quality of life.”
“Since 2012, TTC has been selling off service lines, especially semi-skilled and non-skilled work. In this round of collective bargaining, we made the TTC understand that our members can perform the work as efficiently as outside contractors,” said Scott Gordon, Assistant Business Agent for Maintenance. “We broke new ground on bringing work back into the bargaining unit and getting new work that we’ve never had before. Many more entry-level positions now lead to opportunities for training and promotion. This is the best contract since I started here more than forty years ago.”
“Cross boundary is a mistake for the City of Toronto. Where 905 and TTC buses run on the same routes, TTC was planning to eliminate duplication by eliminating its own service – with no plan to collect and allocate fare revenue. Without our ability to bargain properly, we would have never been able to draw the attention needed to the Cross Boundary issue,” said Frank Malta, Assistant Business Agent for Transportation. “We’ve drawn attention to it. Hopefully, now City Hall will fix it.”
For additional information, please contact media@atu113.net.
Additional Facts:
- On May 8, 2023, Hon. Justice Chalmers of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice found that Ontario legislation banning TTC workers from striking violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. ATU Local 113 was successful in securing our members’ right to strike. To read the full decision, please see the link below:
- This decision was subsequently affirmed by the Ontario Court of Appeal (Dawe J.A.) on May 23, 2024. The full decision can be found here: Amalgamated-Transit-Union-Local-113-v.-Ontario-2024-ONCA-407.pdf (wemovetoronto.ca)
- ATU Local 113’s Collective Agreement expired on March 31, 2024.
- The Union’s last Collective Agreement was issued in 2021.
- This is the first time in 10 years that the Union can exercise its right to strike, following last year’s historic legal victory which restored this fundamental, constitutional right.
- The last time ATU Local 113 members went on strike was in 2008.
- Effective Friday, June 7 at 12:01 am, ATU Local 113 still remains in a position to legally strike.